AU: The Challenge
by castielandhisassbutt
Summary: Dean is, for lack of a better word, the school slut. Though, he is pretty appreciated by most of the students. Until Castiel transfers to his school. Dean's world changes and not entirely for the better.
1. First Impression

Dean had been attending Lawrence High School for some time now and he'd always been known as the school player. Someone everyone wanted and the guy who'd been with multiple girls - sometimes more than one at once (but that was the rumors). No one really knew much about Dean, just that he had a hard exterior - but when he wanted something, he got it.

It was no shock that when a new transfer student came to their school in his senior year that he wanted the guy. Yes, Dean went for men too. Everyone knew and no one ever dared to say anything. Especially when it came to his brother, Sam. The two were a package deal. If someone wanted to be with Sam, they had to get by Dean. If someone slept with Dean, they had to make sure they never spoke about his brother.

There was one guy at their school who had learned his lesson from ever saying anything about Sammy Winchester. His name was Alastair. He was the school's biggest bully at one point and he'd made a pass at Dean sexually. Of course, Dean went along with it. Until Alastair left some nasty scars on him from their sexual encounter and told him he was going to do the same to Sam.

Dean, not knowing what else to do, had kicked the crap out of Alastair. He had jumped him when the guy least expected it. Alastair stopped bugging him after that and Sam never found out why Dean did it. But he had nearly been charged... until Dean showed the scars and said that Alastair had caused them.

In short, it had been a messy situation and Alastair had gotten off almost free and Dean had to go to anger management. He still attended, but no one knew. Dean had been asked if he wanted Alastair to go to a different school, but as far as he was concerned, Alastair needed to stay. That way he could keep an eye on the idiot. It wasn't like his parents were going to remove him from the school - his parents were idiots and didn't really pay attention to the poor bastard anyway.

But the guy? Dean couldn't take his eyes off the boy who dressed in jeans that looked new. His hair was a bit messy and his shirts were always tucked in. He looked fancy and clean. His eyes were a ridiculous bright blue colour and it drew him in. He stood at his locker, watching the other boy with an open mind. And then the boy shut his locker door and disappeared down the hall.

A smirk fluttered across Dean's face and he nodded to himself, closing his own locker door. That boy would be his next mission. He turned and head towards his class, wondering about the new guy. He truly knew pretty much everyone at the school - it was no secret who he was either. And when he entered his English classroom, he felt pretty damn grand when the girls looked at him.

Dean didn't notice though. His eyes fell upon the pristine looking boy he'd noticed before. He was sitting at the front of the room - Dean's seat was in the middle of the room. He walked by, eying him as he sat down. The other boy didn't notice. He bit his bottom lip a bit, taking his seat as he set his bag down. He wanted to know his name. Wanted to get to know the boy who had his attention.

The whole class, Dean had stared at Castiel. He hadn't listened to a word their teacher spoke. No - and how could he? There was a gorgeous looking boy in his midst and he wanted to get to know him on a more personal level. Sure, maybe that made him a bit of a slut, but he didn't objectify himself to any names.

Dean had passed a note to one the girl's in his class - a girl who he had become good friends with on the basis she wouldn't sleep with him. He had tried making a pass at her and she had sacked him. Joanna Harvelle. Jo, for short. She was a real firecracker and had become quite the friend to him. He just didn't like when she sacked him. Yeah, she'd done so more than once for his actions.

Either way, he had figured out that his name was Castiel Novak. He'd transferred in from out of state and he was living with his aunt. How Jo already knew this he had no idea. The girl was like his brother sometimes and it was freaky. He glanced to Castiel though, his eyes never leaving the back of the guy's head. Dean was considering going up and talking to him when the bell rang.

But when the bell rang and he got to his feet, he looked to where Castiel had been sitting and he was gone. Dean frowned a bit and he heard a laugh come from beside him, "Oh, Dean. When are you going to learn?" of course Jo was mocking him, "Not everyone is a play thing," she teased, reaching over to poke at his cheek. He rolled his eyes, whacking her hand away from his face.

Jo laughed and headed out the room, Dean following her. He could feel a couple pairs of eyes on him - but this was normal for him. He was a celebrity around the school and he had made himself that way. He kept himself calm as he headed down the hall, "Do you know what class he's got next?" he asked Jo.

Jo elbowed him suddenly, causing him to grunt, "Not everyone who is new around here wants to sleep with you. I should warn his pretty little ass about you," she teased, grinning to him.

Dean rolled his eyes again, rubbing his side, "Was that necessary?" he asked. When Jo opened her mouth to reply, he clamped his hand over it and shook his head, "Rhetorical question, sweetheart," and then he pulled his hand away when she licked it, "Ugh, Jo!" he wiped his hand off on her shirt and the both of them laughed a bit.

"Yes, it was necessary," she teased when they both regained composure. Dean smirked, pushing at her head, "Hey! Just because I'm shorter than you by a lot doesn't mean you push me around," she smirked as well, "Also, he's got math."

"How the hell do you know these things?"

Jo stopped, crossing her arms to look at him, "I do this little thing you may not have heard of," she started, grinning cheek-to-cheek, "It's called 'Making Conversation'."

Dean sighed and walked ahead of her, heading towards his nice class, "Nice talking to you too, Jo!" he said as he headed towards the change rooms for gym. His favourite class of the day - and he really loved that it was right before lunch. Gave him time to shower after the class was over. But even as he changed and got into the gym, doing his warm ups, he couldn't get the damn new guy out of his head.

And when lunch came, he was still stuck on the same train of thought. He wrapped a towel around his waist and returned to the change room, drying himself off. He huffed a bit, opening his bag and grabbed his clothes out of it... he narrowed his eyes when he pulled out a shirt that didn't belong to him. He glanced behind him and then in front of him. It was only him in the shower right now - he always took the longest on purpose because of the scars he bore.

People had seen the marks and heard of the marks Alastair had left on him, but Dean tried to ignore it and just took really hot showers. Really hot showers equaled lots of steam, which equaled him not having to worry too much about the guys staring. It was the only thing he was really self-conscious about.

Dean pulled out the bright blue shirt with a teddy bear on the front that said 'I Wuv Hugs' and groaned, "Gabriel..." he muttered out, pulling on his clothes. At least he had his plaid shirt with him - so he was good. Dean pulled the long-sleeved plaid shirt on instead and buried the blue shirt. He was going to kill Gabriel. He was always pulling little stunts like this on him - Gabe just forgot he was always prepared.

Dean made his way to the cafeteria, finding Jo and Sam already at their usual table. He smiled as he came over and sat on the table instead of a chair. Sam looked to him and shook his head, "Think you could use a chair, Dean? People eat on these."

Dean reached over and ruffled his brother's hair, "Ah, don't worry about it, Sammy. I don't have my feet on the table, so all is right in the world," he chuckled, looking to Jo, "Did you make anymore 'conversation' yet?" Dean asked, grinning.

Jo sighed, "Why am I not surprised you're asking more about him?"

Sam looked to Jo and blinked, "Another one?" he said, glancing to Dean, then back to Jo, "What poor sucker is he going after now?" and as if right on time, Castiel entered the cafeteria.

"Right there," Jo said, watching as Dean looked to him and stared. Dean couldn't pry his eyes away as he watched the nicely dressed Castiel go in line for food. Dean never ate cafeteria food - but he was willing to make an exception.

"Be right back, guys," he said, hopping to his feet and heading over to the line. Sam and Jo both shook their heads, chuckling. Things would never change with him it seemed - but Dean didn't care as he hopped in line, beating a girl there by just a second. He looked to Castiel standing awkwardly in line, his body straight, posture well composed. He seemed so different - it was intriguing.

Dean cleared his throat, tapping Castiel on the shoulder as he said, "Someone's new to this school," he said with a smile.

Castiel glanced to the shoulder that Dean had just tapped and then looked to him, giving him an odd smile and nodding somewhat, "Sure," he said, looking back ahead. He had heard of Dean already and had heard about what he did around the school. It wasn't exactly his type of thing and he sure as heck wasn't interested.

Dean was caught off guard by Castiel's cold shoulder and raised an eyebrow, "Name's Dean Winchester," he said, trying to 'make conversation' with the guy.

"I know, I've heard of you," Castiel said without turning back to face Dean. He didn't really need the hassle of someone trying to play him. He'd gone through enough with his ex back home. And he'd been through enough after his parents died. The last thing he wanted was some guy who thought he was king shit to try and get inside his pants. And that was exactly what Dean was doing.

Dean shifted awkwardly in line, a bit confused, "Isn't this where you introduce yourself in response, then?" he asked, curious to what Castiel had heard about him. Though, it couldn't have been anything good if he was giving him the cold shoulder so soon. But that made him a challenge - and Dean liked that.

Castiel sighed and turned around to face him, "You're Dean Winchester, the man with a very interesting reputation, correct?" Castiel said, a straight expression on his face, "You like to sleep around with people in the school because you clearly have some issues you are trying to face and instead of acknowledging what is actually wrong with you, you treat everyone like a challenge."

Jo watched as the cafeteria fell silent to Castiel's words, watching the both of them. Sam's eyes were on Dean. He'd never witnessed his brother getting told off - and this was definitely interesting to see. What was even more interesting was how awkward Dean looked, "Let me just set you straight before you go ahead thinking I'm going to be one of your latest conquests."

Dean went to say something, but Castiel put a finger to his lips, "I'm not done talking," he said, not willing to put up with any bull shit, "My name is Castiel Novak and I will not find any delight with sleeping with the school man-whore. I would much rather screw the keyhole to this cafeteria," he said, pulling his finger from Dean's lips as he turned around, "Pleasure to meet you, Dean."

Dean stood there, confounded. When he looked behind him, everyone was looking at him. He swallowed harshly, looking to Castiel. No one had ever lashed at him like that. Castiel didn't even know him! He wasn't just sleeping around to forget shit. That had nothing to do with it! Did it? He slipped out of the line and stormed out of the cafeteria, leaving Jo and Sam behind with a shocked expression on their faces, "Someone was bound to do it," she said, sighing.

Over the next week after the cafeteria sham, Dean found himself getting looked down on by people. Girls weren't interested in him like before, and now Castiel was getting attention. The guy didn't even want it, Dean could tell. He found himself glaring at the guy's back constantly in English class and he wanted nothing more than to kick his face in for how he'd spoken to him. But he knew he deserved it. The funny thing to Dean was that he wanted Castiel more after what happened.

Dean scratched at the back of his neck when he felt something hit him and he narrowed his eyes to the squishy feeling. He pulled his hand out from behind his neck and found a spit ball there. He sighed, flicking it onto the ground, "Mr. Winchester," he looked up when he realized the teacher was talking to him, "Is there any particular reason why you are throwing spit balls on the ground?"

Shit, "No! That wasn't m-"

"I'm sure it wasn't, Mr. Winchester," Dean hated being called that. It was so damn pretentious. He noticed Castiel glance back at him and Jo was snickering, "We can discuss today during lunch, how does that sound?"

"Like a damn date," Dean said, sulking into his chair.

The teacher looked at him, "Oh, is that so?" he asked him, crossing his arms.

Dean mimicked the teacher's posture and nodded, "I'll see you then," he said, saluting him as the bell rang, springing him free. He grabbed his stuff and tossed it into his bag, eyes on Castiel as he left. This was all his fault. Things had not been like this before he came. Jesus, he'd only been here for a couple weeks and look at how his week was already going. Now he had detention during lunch hour? Yeah, that would go over well with his football coach. Wednesday's were always practice days during the lunch hour. And now he had detention, "_Shit_," he muttered out.

When gym came, already had things planned out for Gabriel. He had his plan hidden inside his bag. He made sure to arrive five minutes late. He didn't care anyway - the guys had become assholes to him in gym. And it was all because of Castiel. He pulled on his shorts and did a quick check of the lockers. Everyone was gone. He smirked to himself and went to his bag, grabbing it and lugging it over to Gabriel's stuff. He unzipped his bag, finding his clothes in there.

"If he wants to play dirty, I can do that too," Dean muttered out, grabbed the three eggs he'd brought with him to school and cracked them open over Gabriel's clothes. What he was doing was nothing compared to the pasta sauce incident. Gabriel had been known to be a bit of a trickster. He'd somehow rigged Dean's locker so that when he opened it up, pasta sauce flung out at him. He'd changed his lock on his locker three times now. It still seemed to do nothing - asshole. Dean quickly put his bag away and disappeared into the gym.

When the end of class came, Dean found himself with a bit of a sprained wrist. He was fine, but one of his 'classmates' had tripped him. And who had his classmate been? Alastair. He swore that it was an accident, but Dean didn't believe him. Dean had nearly attacked him, but he had remained calm, heading into the showers. He took his time like usual, waiting until everyone was gone. He disappeared into the change room when he was done, changing into his clothes.

He realized something as he pulled his shirt over his head - why hadn't Gabriel said anything? Dean was sure there would have been some sort of ruckus and that Gabriel would have called him out on it. And then Dean would have been sent to the office. In truth, he wanted to be sent home instead of spending his time in homeroom, but it appeared as though he didn't have a choice.

And then it hit Dean like a ton of bricks. He looked towards where he'd gone when he had done the egg thing and realized something, "Oh shit," he said, looking to his stuff and then the bag he'd egged, "That wasn't Gabe's, was it?" he asked himself. He thought hard about which bag it had been. He'd been rushing and hadn't been paying attention and now he'd egged the wrong bag? Crap! He groaned, grabbing his bag and slinging it over his shoulder, "This ought to be fun to explain," he said, mocking himself as he turned around.

Only to find Alastair standing there. He jumped, looking to the shirtless man and realized what bag he had egged, "Dean-o," he said, smiling to him as he stepped forward. Dean stepped backwards, his bag sliding off his arm and to the ground as his face paled, "I don't appreciate my stuff being wrecked by your little girlish battle with Gabriel," he said, leaning in towards him, one hand touching Dean's shoulder. Dean's back was to the lockers behind him in the change room and he felt his heart beat picking up.

"Alastair, move," Dean said firmly, swallowing hard, "You aren't supposed to be coming around me, you know that."

Alastair looked around, then looked to Dean, smirking, "And who is going to say anything about our little meeting, hm?" he asked, tilting his head a bit as he leaned in close to Dean, breathing on him. Dean kept his eyes on Alastair, finding himself smelling that scent Alastair had. He couldn't quite explain it, but it repulsed him, "I'm what you crave, Dean. Don't deny what you are..." he chuckled a bit, "...what you are wanting deep down inside yourself."

Dean hated when Alastair did this. He always got in his personal space and spoke things to him that made his blood boil. Things that broke him down inside, "You told me yourself," Alastair hissed against his cheek, "That you enjoy the darkness I bring out in you. Wasn't it I who changed you into the perfect little slut that you are?" Dean finally shoved Alastair back and against the lockers, hearing the boy's back connected with it. Alastair grunted and watched as Dean grabbed his bag off the ground and left the lockers quickly, "I know what makes you tick, Dean-o!" he called out.

Dean wasn't going to tell anyone about what happened. Alastair would just say he was confronting him about the eggs in his bag. Dean knew that. He ran a hand through his hair a couple times as he entered the English room and sat down. His teacher looked to him and raised an eyebrow as Dean pulled out his work and put his nose right into it. His teacher said nothing though and took it as a good thing as Dean rested his forehead against the palm of his hand.

Would Alastair use this against him? He glanced to his shoulder, to where Alastair had held him. He hated the way he made him feel. It was dark and gross where Alastair was. He didn't understand how someone could be like that. He didn't know if he could handle Alastair again either. And sure, he was supposed to tell the office if he experienced any problems - but Dean had egged his damn bag. That gave the ass a bit more leverage than anything as far as he was concerned. So, what would be the point when he'd get in more shit and Alastair would get nothing?

When detention ended, he found himself going to his usual table to sit with Jo and Sam. But as he headed up to the table, he noticed who was sitting next to Sam, chatting with them. He narrowed his eyes a bit, keeping his composure straight as he went and sat next to Jo, ignoring Castiel's presence, "Hey Sammy," he said, smirking a bit as he looked to his brother.

Jo looked to Dean, catching the way he looked. She rolled her eyes, ready to whack him upside the head if he was an ass to Castiel in any way. But she noticed after the way Castiel had spoken to Dean that the school was treating the poor guy differently. And now people were noticing Castiel. She knew it was probably pissing Dean off to know end. He wasn't used to getting such treatment from the school. Sure, Dean was getting what he deserved on some levels - but she was also wondering what was truly bugging him. There was an odd look on his face.

"Dean, do you seriously need to call me Sammy?" Sam asked, looking to his brother with a semi-annoyed face. Castiel glanced to Dean, feeling awkward for being there now. He knew he was the cause of what was happening to Dean, but he didn't regret it for the most part. If he had even pretended to be interested, he still would have flew off the handle. He didn't put up for stupidity and players. And Dean happened to have displayed both earlier in the week.

"I don't see anything wrong with it," Dean teased, noticing Castiel glancing to him. He shifted a bit and got to his feet. Jo didn't say anything, not a word as she watched Dean, "But, I need to go explain to the coach why I got detention for something I didn't even fucking do today," Dean said, casting a glare to Castiel.

Sam blinked, confused as his brother suddenly walked off. He looked to Jo and Castiel, opening his mouth to ask what was up with him, but then he saw Castiel's face, "Oh," he mumbled, looking down to his empty plate that once housed a homemade salad. He felt bad for what was happening to his brother - but he didn't know if there was anything he could do or not.

Castiel frowned a bit, "It's me," he said, acknowledging it out loud, "I'm the reason he is walking away. I get it though, so," he shrugged a bit, sitting up right in his seat. He was dressed pristine like always, but he had the sleeves of his shirt rolled up this time so he didn't get anything on them that might be on the table. He glanced behind him, seeing Dean leaving the cafeteria. Maybe he should talk to him or something and try to make things right?

Jo shifted a bit in her seat, letting out a small sigh, "He'll get over it, don't worry about him," she said, looking to Castiel with a smile, "He's just not used to being where most of this school is on the food chain."

"Where's that?" Sam said, smirking as he looked to Jo.

"Average."

Castiel chuckled a bit, glancing back to where Dean had gone. He caved, getting to his feet, "As true as that is, I've got a date with one of the teachers for some help. Still have a lot of catching up to do," he said. Sam nodded to him, giving him a half salute as he began to walk away.

Jo raised an eyebrow, looking to Sam, "He's lying," she said.

Sam looked to Jo again and gave her a curious look, "How can you tell?" he asked. He always found how Jo could read people interesting. He was good at it too - but nowhere near as good as she was. It was creepy sometimes how well she did it. In the end, he was still intrigued though. He also enjoyed when she put his brother in his place. That was definitely amusing to him.

Jo rested her arms on the table and leaned her head against the palms of her hands. She smiled innocently to Sam, "Oh, that doesn't matter, Sam. It'll all pan out eventually," she said, pulling one hand away to twirl her blond hair around her finger. She knew Castiel was curious about Dean. He had been in the beginning. And the idea of the two was interesting, sure - but if Dean was to ever be in a proper functioning relationship, Castiel had a lot of work ahead of him. Dean didn't know how to function off of just one person. Which was why she could never sell herself to the idea of being with him.

Castiel had left the cafeteria and disappeared to find Dean. He went in the direction he'd gone, and realized Dean had gone outside. He shrugged his shoulders and pushed open the doors. He kept the sleeves of his shirt rolled up as he looked around, wondering where he would have gone. It wasn't right to be picked on - Castiel didn't like others being bothered. He had just wanted to prove a point to Dean.

It wasn't normally like him to lash out on people. It was like he had explained to Joanna, his parents had recently passed. Castiel was living with his aunt and uncle. Things were difficult. And here he was, somewhere completely new and one of his true first experiences with a student is someone wanting in his pants? It wasn't like he hadn't noticed Dean staring at him over the last while.

Dean had made it painfully obvious. Castiel shook his head, looking towards some of the portable classrooms and catching sight of what looked like Dean in between one of them. He raised an eyebrow and walked towards them. He just wanted to make things right in a way and have things not be so damn awkward between that Dean couldn't even sit with his brother and friend during lunch.

Sam had turned out to be a nice guy. Castiel was intrigued by Sam in some ways. He was young and incredibly smart. He was also a big bookworm from the way he spoke and discussed things. Castiel had found it interesting how Sam was so unlike Dean. They got along really well from what Joanna had said as well. He'd also met an interesting person by the name of Gabriel. He seemed to have a thing for sweets, but he was a nice guy. Funny too.

Dean leaned against the portable, letting out a deep sigh. He dropped his bag to the ground and looked up to the blue sky, "Least it's nice out," he said, chuckling to himself. Though, his mind was still on what had happened in the change room with Alastair. He felt his stomach grow queasy to the memory and he dropped to the ground, sitting there as he looked up. He didn't want to eat anything, he'd lost his appetite now thanks to the jackass.

His mind was also on the fact the school was turning against him. If Alastair felt comfortable enough to trip him in gym and confront him inside the change room - then what else was there that could happen to him? And he realized he wished he hadn't asked himself that as he noticed one of his ex-girlfriend's coming over to him looking none-to-pleased.

"Dean Winchester," she said in a bit of a low voice, clearly annoyed.

"Ah, Bela, hey," Dean said, quickly getting to his feet, "How are y-" his words were cut short by her smacking him hard across the face with the palm of her hand. He felt the stinging sensation on his face and knew it was going to leave a mark, "What the hell?" he said, a hand touching where she had smacked as he looked to her.

"Did you think I wouldn't find out?" Bela said, glaring daggers at Dean.

"Find out about what?" he groaned, rubbing his face now, "Fuck, that hurt!"

"Good!" Bela said, inching forward. Dean practically cowered, turning a bit in fear she had plans on sacking him, "Because I found out while you were supposed to be off studying with Sam that you were actually out with Cassie!"

Castiel listened from around the corner, leaning against the portable to hide himself. He didn't want to interrupt - but he was also curious to what was happening. Maybe he hadn't been wrong for what he'd said to Dean? Maybe it was something else? He didn't know. He didn't even know if he should move in fear of making some sort of noise that might get him caught and in crap from the both of them. Besides, he didn't even know who Bela was, but he knew she sounded angry.

"How the hell could I have been with her? She was out of town, Bela!" Dean narrowed his eyes now, standing straight, "Who the hell said that to you?" he was pissed. It wasn't true. He would never cheat. He may like to work his way around time and again, but he was not a cheater. That was not his style. The only time he'd ever been considered a 'cheater' was when Alastair was involved in his life.

"Doesn't matter who told me," Bela said, biting at her bottom lip the way she always did when she was fighting the urge to cry. Dean sighed, "I'm finding it hard to believe you right now, Dean.. but, can you really blame me?" she asked, turning around and quickly taking off.

Dean watched her quickly walk away, clearly upset. He wanted to follow and figure out who was spreading shit about him. All this was leading back to that new transfer student. To Castiel. Nothing like this happened to him before he arrived and now everything was falling apart. But he did NOT cheat on Bela. He turned quickly, drawing back his hand and curling his fingers in as he punched the wall of the portable class room. He groaned to the impact, leaving his hand held there.

Castiel heard the groan and then a loud curse come from Dean. He realized he needed to walk away, but when he turned to walk away, his foot connected with a can on the ground and he froze in his footsteps, hoping Dean hadn't heard it.

"What the hell?" Castiel winced, turning around carefully and looking to Dean who was now standing there, looking around the corner at him with nothing but pure anger in his eyes. It was slightly terrifying and Castiel didn't know what to say. He just stood there in silence, "Were you eavesdropping on me?" Dean said, eying him. Everything was his fault in Dean's eyes.

"No, no. I followed you ou-"

"You followed me?" Dean said, laughing sarcastically, "What, it isn't enough that you've got most of my friends turned against me on the whim of one wonderful fucking introduction? You've got a hell of a way of showing interest, Cas," Dean said, shaking his head.

"It isn't like that," Castiel said, standing straight now. He narrowed his eyes, ready to get defensive - but then his eyes caught sight of Dean's hand. Now he understood what the groan had been. He winced and quickly moved forward, grabbing Dean's hand, "Be mad at me all you want, your hand is hurt," he said, holding it carefully as he examined Dean's bloody hand.

Dean tore his hand away from Castiel's grasp, taking a step back from him. Even though he was pissed at the guy for just touching his hand like that, he couldn't help it as he realized he liked Castiel's soft skin, "Yeah, what of it?" Dean said, not pleased, "You don't just go around eavesdropping on someone's conversation and then touching them, Cas," he said, frowning.

Castiel didn't really like the nickname Dean was using for him, but he lived with it this time, watching Dean take another step back. He couldn't explain it, but it hurt that the boy before him reacted this way, "I'm sorry for listening in. I didn't exactly know what to say. And clearly I have no ethics because I did try to tip toe away without going noticed, alright?"

Dean scoffed, "Oh yeah, sure. Probably off to tell people how I'm a cheater and ruined some girl's life for the next while, right?" he couldn't but be a sarcastic life, "Go on," he said, "Run and tell everyone. You've already worked your damn magic, might as well continue the thickening horse shit, right?"

Castiel frowned, "Oh, you are just one big pile of self pity, aren't you?" he said, crossing his arms, "Sorry not everything works out how you want it to there, Dean. Get the stick out of your ass and realize that maybe, _just maybe_, you are getting some of what you deserve you stuck-up ass."

Dean clenched his fists, feeling the pain rise up and through his arm from his injured knuckles, "Shut the hell up. I may be an ass sometimes, but I'm not a cheater. Whoever the heck said that to her was spewing nothing but bull shit," he seethed, trying his damned best not to lunge forward and beat the crap out of Castiel. Yeah, he deserved some of the crap he was getting. But Alastair? He didn't deserve anything like that. No, _nothing_ like that. No one did.

"And just so you know, I had no intention of telling anyone. I don't know enough about you and I'm not some kind of gossiper. So you can swear all you want and defend yourself to me, but I'm not going to tell anyone," Castiel said, remembering why he followed him in the first place, "Besides, I didn't follow you out here so I could argue with you about what you did and didn't do. I came out here to apologize."

Dean was taken by surprise, and it showed as he relaxed a bit, "What?"

"When I lashed out on you, it wasn't on purpose," Castiel had no intention on explaining his life story, he just wanted to say sorry, "I'm new here and I had noticed you watching me. Not going to lie, it sort of freaked me out," he said, lifting both hands up in defense, "And I had heard some things about you and this guy said something to m-"

"What guy?" Dean asked, crossing his arms now, "I want to know who. I don't blame you for getting pissed at me - and yes, I'm still pissed, but I want to know who."

Castiel looked to Dean, eyes locking with his. He didn't know if he should tell him. What if Dean went and beat the poor guy up? He wasn't trying to assume he would, but he just had this eerie suspicion he might, "It doesn't matter n-"

"Yes, yes it does."

Castiel sighed - it appeared as though Dean was the stubborn type. This didn't shock him for some reason though. It was actually interesting, "Fine. Promise me you aren't going to go and do something stupid if I give you who is name though?" Dean went to say something, but Castiel held up his hand to stop him, "I won't be responsible for some stupid decision, okay?"

Dean nodded his head, "I promise," of course he wasn't being a hundred percent honest. He didn't know what he would do. He was just tired of the shit going around about him and he didn't know just how much he could take of it. He wanted it to end. And this guy who was talking shit about him to Castiel? He would make sure to put an end to that if possible.

Castiel didn't think he could trust Dean's word right then, and he would be stupid to trust him. He didn't know anything about Dean. He only knew what other people told him - though, he did know that Dean had definitely cheated on that girl Bela with someone else based on his reaction, "His name," he said, feeling the regret begin to tickle the back of his throat. This was a stupid decision to tell anything to Dean, but he felt like he owed it to him, "His name was Alastair."


	2. Therapist Session

Dean sat at home, laying on his bed. His eyes were fixed on the ceiling as he clenched a baseball in his hands. Everything Castiel had said previously was going through his mind and it had stayed that way until the weekend. He'd ignored everyone except for Jo and Sam. It had been easier to think about what he was going to do. Alastair had spoken to Castiel and poisoned his mind. If it hadn't been for that bastard, things wouldn't be like this.

Things wouldn't be so damn difficult. He closed his eyes, clenching them shut as a knock was heard against his bedroom door. He didn't want to deal with anything. He didn't want to hear anything anyone might have to say. He'd spent the last couple days hearing things said about him and he didn't know how much more he could take. He never picked on anyone like this, he just made some rough decisions. So why was it this hard for him?

Dean felt a pang against his chest as he thought about the week to come, "Dean? Can I come in?" he sat up now, looking towards his bedroom door. This was the second time his mother had knocked on his door. The first time he had ignored her successfully, but he knew he couldn't forever. He didn't know if he had the will to ignore her again. He knew that she would know something was wrong. Hell, she probably did now, "Please?"

He sighed, "Sure," he laid back down on his bed and rolled over so he didn't have to face her. His door opened and then closed again, but he knew she was in the room, probably looking around at the mess that he called his bedroom. Clothes from one end of the floor to the next. He wasn't one for keeping things tidy, he didn't see the point. The only people who had ever been in his room were a select few. He didn't bring many people home. Mainly because of Sam arguing with their dad all the time. It was an endless battle sometimes.

"Do you want to tell me what's going on?" Mary asked in a sweet voice, sitting on the edge of Dean's bed. He winced to the concern in her voice, keeping himself facing away. A hand touched his shoulder gingerly and he gave a faint smile in response, "I promise to keep it between us."

Dean let out a sigh of defeat, knowing he wasn't going to win this battle by ignoring her. He'd probably just upset her, and he wasn't about to do that. He rolled onto his back and sat up, looking to his mother. She looked tired - but he knew she'd been working at the little bakery downtown all day, which would explain the look on her face, "School's just a pain right now. I'm fine, promise?" he said, giving her a look.

Mary recognized that Dean was being stubborn and she gave him a soft smile, "Alright, but you know that you can come to me if you ever need help, okay?" Dean nodded to her, watching as Mary got to her feet and began to head towards the door - but she stopped, turning to look at her son, "And do me a favour?" he gave her a curious look, "Clean up your room for once," she chuckled, shaking her head as she left his bedroom.

Dean flopped back against his bed with a smile on his face, "Yeah, I'll be sure to do that," of course he was being slightly sarcastic. He _hated_ cleaning his room - especially making his bed. He didn't see the point in making his bed if he was just gonna lay in it again at night. It would just get all messed up again, wouldn't it? He closed his eyes, crossing his arms behind his head.

He was just going to have to suck it up and get through the next while. Dean knew that it was going to be rough - but he knew that in the end, he was going to make it out alright. Things couldn't get much worse than what they already had, right? He opened his eyes, glancing at the ceiling and eying the old rock band posters plastering it. Metallica on one end and Lynyrd Skynyrd on the other. Various names that brought him comfort, "Can't always get what I want, right?" he muttered to himself, "But if I try, I might get what I need, right?"

* * *

><p>When the new school week came, Castiel had found himself unable to focus. It had been like this for some time and he knew that he needed to face his inability to focus. He couldn't help it sometimes though. Maybe it was because of what had happened before, or maybe it was Dean and what had been said to him by Alastair. He didn't know. He didn't have a freaking clue what to think. He tapped the end of his pencil against his notebook, eying the blank page as his teacher spoke.<p>

Maybe he had been harsh to believe everything that had been said to him, but what else was he supposed to do? Dean hadn't exactly seemed like the type of guy he was going to end up buddy-buddy with, right? He chewed on his bottom lip, trying hard to focus on the lesson at hand - but he couldn't. He could feel eyes on him and it made him feel incredibly awkward. Not to mention that Alastair guy had been hanging around him a lot and it was strange.

Sometimes he felt like Alastair was just being _too_ nice. He couldn't quite put his finger on why, but when he brought up the thing with Dean, he seemed to avoid the question. He was determined to figure out what that was all about. Castiel just didn't want to become too involved with the drama - though, he didn't think he had much of a choice. With how he had lashed out on Dean last week, he felt like he owed it to him to at least give him the benefit of the doubt.

Castiel glanced up, looking to the teacher when his words seemed to stop - it was then he realized that he was being spoken to, "Is there something you have on your mind that's more important then what I have to say?" he felt his words seize up and he realized he was being stupidly out of focus now. He shook his head in the negative, feeling like a moron, "Then would you kindly bring your mind out of the little fantasy land you've created for yourself and pay attention?"

Castiel chewed on his bottom lip again, annoyed by the teacher before him. Mr. Crowley was his name. He was a pain in the ass and he taught history - if Castiel had known he was such an ass, he probably wouldn't have chosen this class. Then again, this was high school. He couldn't wait to have the beauty of college beneath his feet. The idea of being away from high school drama was also incredibly appealing.

He was glad when the bell rang and he was free of the clutches his history teacher always seemed to have on him - the upside of the day was that he didn't have fifth period. It was nice, but not at the same time. His aunt and uncle were having him go see a therapist and it was something he didn't want to have to do. They felt it would be a good idea to have him talking to someone for his first year here... it was also one of the conditions of him moving in. He just didn't think they'd actually go through with it.

Either way, that was the plan for the rest of his day. He just needed to sign himself out - which was what he was planning on doing as he trotted up the steps to head to the office. As he opened up the double doors and rounded the corner, he bumped into someone and quickly turned around to apologize, "Ah! Sorry about that!"

"Don't worry about it," the other person said, just continuing to go down the stairs. Castiel wrinkled his nose a bit, realizing he'd just bumped into Dean. He sighed, watching the other boy disappear down the steps before going to the office. He kind of wanted to reconcile with him - but he needed to know about Alastair before he did that. Castiel shook his head, pushing open the door and stepped up the main desk, smiling to the secretary, "I have an appointment and won't be attending my final class. My aunt should have called in."

The secretary smiled at him, "What's your name?" she asked kindly.

"Castiel Novak," he watched as she turned in her seat and flipped through some papers. After pulling something free, she called the attendance secretary who confirmed it and sent him over to her to sign himself out. He would have to take the bus and he had a small piece of paper folded in the back pocket of his jeans that held the directions on how to get there.

After he had signed out, making sure to grab his bag from his locker, he headed outside. He didn't know the city that well and it was something he was going to have to get to know. Getting lost would not do himself any favours. Though, his saving grace seemed to be the bus stop sitting just outside the school. He smiled, nodding to himself as he adjusted the shoulder bag he wore and headed towards the stop - only to watch as the bus drove by before he reached it.

Castiel grumbled, taking a seat at the small bench outside the bus shelter when he got there, watching the other bus continue on down the street, "Just my luck I suppose." He was grateful for the sunshine at least as he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. He glanced up, looking towards the clear sky with a smile, "Maybe this.." he pushed his hand into his back pocket and pulled out the piece of paper, unfolding it, "This Pamela Barnes isn't so bad."

"Who's Pamela Barnes?" Castiel lowered his gaze, practically jumping to the sudden voice. He looked to his left, spotting a tall guy standing there, "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," his voice was low and that's when he realized it was Dean's brother, Sam.

"You scared the crap out of me, Sam," Castiel said, shaking his head, "Don't you have class right now?" he asked curiously, raising an eyebrow.

Sam shook his head, taking a seat next to him, "Nope. Took that class over the summer, so I have a spare. Just waiting for Dean," he looked to Castiel, giving him a curious look now, "Seriously though, who's Pamela Barnes?"

Castiel folded the paper back up, shoving it in his back pocket again before sitting back down properly, "A family friend I'm heading to see," he lied purposely. He didn't want to tell someone he was just beginning to call a friend that he was on his way to see a therapist. There was no way in hell he would be doing something like that, "Haven't seen her since I was a baby I guess. My aunt told me she's expecting me and they're gonna come later," he gave a small shrug.

Sam chuckled, "Alright then," he couldn't tell if Castiel was lying or not, but he decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, "I'm going to go ahead and guess that you haven't got a clue where you're going, right?"

Castiel smirked to this, shaking his head as he dipped it a bit, "Good guess to the one who's new in town. I jotted down some directions though, so I think I'm good," he looked over at Sam, the smirk still on his face.

The younger Winchester leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, "The buses around here run pretty good. Don't worry. You may have missed the first one, but another will be coming around in a few," he said reassuringly, nodding his head at the same time.

"Good. I'm impatient when it comes to public transportation. Where I come from, it was pretty crappy," Castiel looked towards where the bus would be coming from and gave a small sigh, "And pretty crappy is putting it nicely, I guess." He looked over at Sam, noticing he seemed a bit distressed and raised an eyebrow, "Got something on your mind you might want to get out in the open?"

Sam looked at Castiel and took in a small breath, thinking carefully before he spoke. He didn't know how to say it to Castiel, nor if he wanted to truthfully, "I know I'm over stepping my bounds here, but I gotta ask if you spoke to Dean at all."

Castiel could have seen that coming from a mile away given how close the brothers seemed to be, "Did you come over here to talk to me about your brother, or is there something more?" he asked, trying to avoid the topic. He didn't really want to get into this conversation with Sam - not Dean's younger brother. It didn't seem right in Castiel's eyes. And he just didn't want to.

Sam sighed, looking away from Castiel, "No, I came over cause I wanted to talk, truthfully. I don't talk to a lot of people during my spare. There's a girl I used to talk to, but.." he hitched, drawing in a quick breath before biting his tongue to stop himself from speaking.

Castiel got that curious look on his face again and he couldn't help but to ask, "A girl?"

Sam hadn't meant to say that out loud, it had just slipped out, "Uh, yeah," he sat up right, crossing his arms over his chest. He shifted a bit awkwardly in his seat, "I don't talk about it much. It was something that happened a few weeks before you started here. It's not a big deal."

"Then why did you mention it?" Castiel asked.

Sam groaned, "I didn't mean to."

"But you still brought it up. You must want to talk about it."

"I don't."

"Then why are you still sitting here?"

"I'm not. The bus is coming."

Castiel rolled his eyes, getting to his feet as he pulled free some change. He looked to Sam, "If you ever want to talk about the mysterious lady friend, feel free to come to me. I have no one I'm going to tell and I have no reason to share," he smiled to Sam as the bus stopped in front of the shelter.

"Yeah, thanks," Sam said, watching as Castiel got on the bus. When the doors shut, he turned on his feet and headed back towards the school, running a hand through his hair, "Phew, that was a close one," he chuckled lightly, shaking his head, "Ruby would have killed me."

* * *

><p>After nearly missing a transfer to a different bus route and then getting off a stop later than necessary, Castiel found himself standing outside his therapist's office; Pamela Barnes. He let out a sigh, heading inside the small building and following the directions given to him by the sign and going to the second floor and the fourth room. The main door was already opened and there was a woman sitting behind the desk around the corner.<p>

He nodded his head, knowing that if he didn't go inside the office, he would only get in crap from his aunt and uncle. He took in a deep breath and approached the desk, watching as the red head's eyes met with his own, "Hi, I've never seen you here before, so I'm going to guess your new?" she asked with a bright smile.

Castiel wanted to wipe that smile right off her face. Who in their right mind would be happy to go and talk to a therapist? But he realized he was being rather crude and nodded his head, unable to smile, "Castiel Novak. My appointment started a couple minutes ago. I got lost."

The woman behind the desk nodded, "I'm Anna Milton, Pamela's secretary. And you're right on time in our books. She's waiting for you back through the main door," she said, pointing behind her and down a narrow hall, "I just need your health card and you can head in."

Castiel gave the weird woman his health card and headed down the hall, stepping inside Pamela's office and shutting the door behind him. The second he realized she wasn't actually in the room, he took in the appearance. The waiting room was all white with dark furniture - probably to make others feel comfortable. He thanked no one in particular for having to wait. He probably would have made a run for it if he would have had to wait.

There were books piled closely together on three different bookshelves - all the shelves were old and Castiel couldn't help but to wonder when they would fall, "I see you've spotted my books," he nearly jumped, turning around to look towards the brunette woman. That was twice he'd been scared today, "Sorry if I scared you," she seemed to be smiling and he was rolling his eyes inwardly to being apologized to twice today for the same damn thing.

"Don't worry about it," Castiel muttered out, approaching the chair. He didn't want to sit on the couch, it seemed as though it would make him feel like he was in one of those stupid movies if he did. His eyes fell onto Pamela's and he realized she was staring at him as well. He shifted a bit, placing his hands in his lap after setting his bag down on the floor.

Pamela gave him a curious look, "Your Castiel Novak? I'm Pamela Barnes," she said, extending her hands towards him. He looked to her hand and made no motion to greet it. He didn't like the idea of having a therapist and he didn't know if he was ready to entertain the idea quite yet, "Fair enough," she said, sitting back in her seat behind her desk.

The chair she sat in made a bit of a squeak and it caused Castiel's jaw to twitch. He didn't like how silent the room was or how warm he suddenly felt, "Why don't you tell me why you're here, Castiel."

Castiel nearly laughed to this question, "Isn't that what your job is about? Telling me why I'm here and why I'm so damaged and then throwing some type of medication my direction?" he scoffed, adjusting how he was sitting. Pamela took notice to it, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she shrugged, leaning back comfortably in her chair - which made Castiel feel uncomfortable.

He'd never had to go to a therapist before. He didn't know what it was like, and now that he was there, he wished he didn't have to be there more than ever, "Isn't that what you do?" Castiel said, "Divulge yourself into my personal life and ask me about my parents?" he didn't even think about what he was saying, "Ask me why I'm so hurt by their death and why I'm keeping myself quiet about it?"

Pamela was surprised by how quick Castiel was to lash out, but she was glad, "That depends, Castiel," she said, leaning forward carefully, "Do you want me to ask those things?" she rested her arms against her desk and clasped both of her hands together, "Why don't you tell me how you sleep at night instead?"

Castiel tilted his head slightly, giving Pamela a weird look. Was this lady serious? He had half a mind to walk out. Clearly his aunt and uncle were wasting their money, right? But curiosity got the best of him and he felt his breath hitch, "How I've been sleeping?" he said, restating the question. Pamela nodded her head, brushing some of her hair behind her ear.

The truth was that Castiel hadn't been sleeping well for some time now. Since his mother and father had both died, he hadn't felt the need to sleep. The bags under his eyes were evidence of this. He waited until his body couldn't take anymore of the stress and waves of tired and he would just pass out. He'd pass out for hours and be in a coma-like state, "I sleep alright," he muttered out, unable to look at Pamela as he said his little white lie.

Pamela wasn't stupid though, she knew he was lying, "Do you dream?" she asked simply, leaning back again.

Castiel looked to Pamela, shifting again in his seat. That was part of the reason he had been losing sleep. Every time he slept, all he could picture was what had happened. All he could he see was the both of them dying and him living. It was a burden he bore on his own and it was a nightmare he faced when he slept, "Define dream..."

Pamela nodded, thinking before she spoke. She could tell that Castiel was a stubborn one - but she had seen many like him before, though she would never say that, "Is that why you don't sleep at night, because you dream?"

Castiel appreciated that she was blunt, but also regretted asking. He felt his breath hitch again, and Pamela noticed. She leaned forward, a pen in hand as she jotted something down on paper. Castiel could only imagine the worst as the woman did so, envisioning something horrible about him being placed on the lines she wrote, "You could say that."

"Why don't you tell me about your dreams?"

Castiel looked at her, then at the clock, "How much time do we have?" he didn't see any other way than to just be out with it. Though, he wouldn't give her the details she wanted. It wasn't going to work that way. He wanted to get to know the woman before he began speaking about what he truly thought.

Pamela glanced at Castiel, her eyes meeting with his, "As long as you need," he was her last appointment of the day. And even if he was not, she would not put a time stamp on how long he had to talk. It would only deter him from speaking - she was well aware of that much.

* * *

><p>School had ended and Dean was sitting outside on the bleachers, eyes on the rest of his teammates. He'd been sat out for the practice courtesy of getting tripped and then face planting into the ground. He could feel the scrape on the side of his face stinging from the dirt still sitting there. Logic said to go wash it off, but he didn't care as he watched the guys. His ankle stung as well, but that wasn't so bad. He could still walk, so it didn't bother him.<p>

His eyes were on Michael, the guy who was filling his position as the ball went around. Of course he was the filler. It had been Rufus who had gone and tripped him like an ass after all, right? He shook his head, feeling a weight suddenly appear next to him. He looked beside him and rolled his eyes, "What do you want, Meg?" he said, sounding annoyed by her presence.

"Hey now, be nice. I came to see why the star is sitting out of practice so soon," she teased, looking to him and spotting the scrape. She shook her head, "Tsk, tsk, Dean. Got in a tussle while I wasn't here?" she muttered, reaching over to run her thumb across the scraped cheek.

Dean jerked his head away, swatting at her hand, "Give it a rest, would you?" he never really enjoyed her company. He found her persistent and annoying - sometimes, she reminded him of himself and that bugged him even more. Her hand rested on his shoulder instead and gripped it and he looked at her, "What the hell do you want?"

The whistle blew as Meg opened her mouth and she closed her mouth, shaking her head and withdrawing her hand, "Don't worry about it, Winchester. I'll bug you another day," she said, getting to her feet, "Clearly, you're still on your period," she stood up right, brushing off the back of black skinny jeans.

Dean couldn't help but to eye her from behind, then smirk as he looked back to the field, "I'm not on my ever-so-lovely manly period, Meg," he said, giving a small chuckle, "So, you can relax. I'm just annoyed."

Meg looked down at him and crossed her arms below her chest as she turned around, "Oh really? I couldn't have guessed. Let me guess though," she said, looking towards the field, then back to Dean, "Rufus?" she bit her bottom lip, raising an eyebrow in hopes that she had guessed correctly.

Had it really been that obvious to her? Dean looked up at her, giving her a curious look of his own, "Good guess," he said, shaking his head, "Definitely a Rufus job. The way things are going, I might bow out," he was sick of the looks he was getting in the locker room already. It hadn't even been two weeks. But to deal with the harassment of the football team was worse than anything - okay, maybe not Alastair.

Meg reached over and smacked Dean upside the head, earning a groan from the sudden contact, "You're such a moron. You're gonna bow out like a little bitch because you don't like the way people are treating you?" she laughed, "Hear I thought Dean Winchester had a little more spine in him than his baby brother. Guess not," she turned to walk away.

Dean sprang up and grabbed her arms, "What makes you think I'm a little bitch?" he said, narrowing his eyes.

Meg's eyes met with Dean's and she smirked, licking her bottom lip before speaking, "There's the Dean Winchester I know," she said, jerking her arm away from his grasp. She quickly reached up with one hand, cupping his jaw in her hand firmly. Dean eyed her, his expression unchanging, "Why don't we make a little wager?"

Dean blinked, "What kinda wager?" he muttered out from her grasp. Meg pulled her hand away gently, running her nails along his jaw line, "What on earth could we possibly make a bet about now?" he asked.

Meg had been notorious for making bets with Dean in the past, "You know what kind of bet I'm thinking," she said, taking a seat on the bench again. Dean couldn't help the curiosity inside him growing as he took a seat next to her. She reached over and placed on his leg, sliding it to the inside of his thigh with ease. It caused Dean to tense up as he looked to her, eying the field as well and thanking everything humanly possible that no one was looking, "I miss those days, Dean-o," she said, her voice slow and drawn out.

Dean grabbed Meg's hand and pulled it from his leg, placing it on her own lap, "I know the kind of bet you're talking about and I don't want to do it. The last bet we made when you got some sick idea, it ended up looking like I was cheating," he said, giving her a nasty look, "And you purposely set it up that way, didn't you?"

Meg took in a sarcastic gasp, cupping one hand over her mouth, "Well I never, Dean," she hissed, then dropped her hand, letting out a small laugh. She shook her head, pulling an elastic free from her hand, "I was merely thinking we could thicken the pot more than normal," she said, pulling her dark curls into a high ponytail, "I tell you who to go for, and if you win," she looked over to him grinning, "Four hundred bucks."

Dean blinked, looking at her like she was insane, "How the hell can you even afford that?" he seethed, trying to keep his voice down, "Four hundred bucks? Jesus Christ, and what the hell do I have to give you in return if I can't go through with it?" he looked back towards the field, noticing the coach was now looking at them, "And hurry up or you're gonna get me in shit."

Meg smirked, leaning in close to Dean's face so that he could smell the mint on her breath from whatever gum she'd been chewing earlier, "If you lose, I finally get what I want," she said, brushing her lips over his. She'd been trying to sleep with him for a long time now after a brief kiss they had shared at a party while Dean was drunk. For whatever reason, she wanted to mark Dean as a conquest.

Dean eyed the coach again who didn't look pleased he wasn't paying attention and he sighed, looking to Meg, "Who is it?" he asked, not agreeing to anything yet. He didn't even think he should be amusing her with an answer, but he couldn't help himself. As much as he wasn't a fan of Meg, they did have fun with this crap.

Meg leaned in, whispering into Dean's ear, "The new guy," she knew it would get under his skin and she knew he would be unable to say no. The elder Winchester sibling had a thing for new comers. She didn't know why, but it always amused her. She just wanted to see him fail so she could get what she wanted.

Dean placed both hands on Meg's shoulders and shoved her back, causing her to nearly fall off the bench. She narrowed her eyes, glaring at him as he took in a deep breath, "No. No way. Not happening," he growled out, "Just go. I need to pay attention," he looked back towards the field, pissed.

"Fine," Meg grumbled, standing up again, "But I guarantee you'll be saying yes to the idea by tomorrow," she said, turning around to walk off, "Four hundred bucks, Dean-o," she lulled, walking away.

Dean could hear her whistling and the click of her boots against the cement pathway and all he wanted to do was drown the sound out. He knew who Meg had been talking about, which was why she had upped the usual price of just a hundred bucks. It was a little game they played, a game that had gotten them in shit together multiple times. But they didn't care.

Not this time though. Dean wasn't going to try and use Castiel just so he could get four hundred bucks from Meg. The guy had been kind enough to come over and apologize. Though, Dean had noticed something else had been going on with him. It seemed they all had something going on. He shook his head, running a hand through his hair as he thought about it. There was no way he could go through with something like that, right? Not after Castiel had apologized like that... _right_?

* * *

><p>As Castiel's time with Pamela drew to an end, he found himself comfortable around her. It shocked him how quickly he found himself able to talk to her, but he was glad, "Thank you for today," he said, nodding his head as he got to his feet, "I know I didn't say much but-"<p>

"That's how it works," Pamela said, purposely cutting him off, "Do you think I have others come in here and just open up themselves on the first sitting? It's all about patience and time. We've only just met. We have lots of time to get to know each other," she said, smiling to him.

Castiel nodded his head, "Okay, fair enough," he said, chuckling as he picked up his bag. He brought it over his head and rested the strap on his shoulder, looking to Pamela, "But thank you, as I said. I'll be here next week at the same time then?" he asked her, raising an eyebrow.

Pamela nodded her head, "Same time as today - but I want you to do me a favor," she said, getting to her feet to show Castiel to the door, "I want you to talk to the boy you told me about today," she suggested, "It sounds like you need to start off on level ground, not a bumpy road that needs construction."

The woman had a point, Castiel knew that. He had already tried to talk to Dean, but when he had told him it had been Alastair to warn him about the guy's personality - well, he had stormed off. He didn't know what else he could say to Dean that would make him stick around instead of walking off. Besides, he didn't think Dean was exactly _friendship_ material, "I can try that," he said, not sure if he was being honest or if he was just trying to leave.

After leaving Pamela's office and headed back to the bus stop, Castiel couldn't help but to think about what he would even say to Dean and what he had talked to Pamela about. He hadn't spoken about his parents but he had spoken about his encounter with Dean. It had been troubling him all weekend and it had stuck with him. He was glad that this was how he would be spending his Monday afternoons though - he had that much to be grateful for.

Though, he felt like an idiot for what he had done to Dean. He had explained to Pamela how stupid he felt for lashing out. And then he had tried to apologize, but Dean had taken the Alastair thing personal it seemed and walked off. Castiel just wanted to know what had happened there. Was Alastair someone Dean had burned? Had something more personal happened there that Castiel was not aware of? He shook his head, feeling a migraine coming as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

The bus came shortly after and Castiel climbed up the steps, heading straight towards the back after paying his fare. He decided that he had all week to try and make up for what had happened. He could relax for the evening and then he would try talking to Dean tomorrow or something. He groaned as he sat down at the back of the bus, slumping into the seat, "And how are you going to do that?" he breathed to himself, looking out the window.

* * *

><p>Dean pulled his knapsack over both shoulders, limping towards the stairwell to head outside. He groaned a bit, placing his hand on the railing as he made his way up. He had thought about Meg's offer and he didn't see why he would go through with it. He would denying the offer. Castiel seemed like an alright guy after the brief moment he had spoken with him. Then again, he'd stormed off. What could he possibly know about someone he wasn't spending any time around?<p>

"Hey, Dean," he felt a hand on his shoulder and he narrowed his eyes to the low voice, turning on the stairs to see Alastair standing there, "Leaving so soon? I was hoping you might stick around for a little celebration," Dean could hear the darkness inside that voice and it terrified him. He hated Alastair more than anything and he especially hated that the asshole had spoken to Castiel and ruined _everything_.

"Get off me," Dean seethed, trying to keep himself calm as his heart thudded against his chest - but Alastair didn't listen. The grip on Dean's shoulder tightened and he winced, "Ah! Hey!" he groaned, jerking his shoulder free, "Seriously, what's your problem?" he said, shoving Alastair back like he had before. First Meg and now Alastair was bugging him? He just wanted to go home.

Alastair smiled to Dean, leaning in again, "I would be nice if I were you. In case you haven't already noticed, Dean.. It's quite easy to turn people against you without barely lifting a finger," he lulled it out, bringing a hand up and trailing it down Dean's arm, "So, why not relax a little?"

Dean shuddered to the touch, eyes glued to Alastair's, "How about you back the hell off before I pound your face in? School property or not, I will kick the shit out of you," he knew his voice was shaky, but he was glad that Alastair raised both hands and stepped backwards.

"You ought to show me a bit more respect, Dean. You aren't where you used to be in this school," Alastair said with a sickly smile on his face. He turned and slowly went back down the steps, chuckling as he left the stair well.

The second he was gone, Dean let out a much needed sigh of relief and headed outside quickly, wasting no time to get off school property. He could see Sam waiting for him, but he stopped to look back behind him, "Turn people against me?" he mumbled, thinking about it for a second. It was Alastair's fault _everyone_ was being a dick to him? He didn't know if he could believe that.

The only way that would be possible would be if Alastair had dirt on everyone. Which would take a lot of time and effort to do - and just to bug him? He didn't see the point in that. He shook his head, pulling out his phone and flipping it open. He scrolled through his contacts, faintly hearing Sam call out his name. He held up a finger, selecting the option to send Meg a text.. a text that simply say, '_I'm in_.'

The only person who held the power to have someone hate him was Dean himself and he knew that. Alastair couldn't control anything. And if Castiel wanted to believe someone like Alastair without actually giving it a shot.. well.. then he'd make sure Castiel had a reason to hate him.


End file.
